Nigel Farage is a “fraud” who is “no friend of the working class”, the head of Britain’s union movement has said.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak took aim at the Reform UK leader in a fiery speech, where he said unions must work with the Government to face down “tin pot politicians and street thugs” who promoted hate after the Southport riots.
Mr Nowak, whose grandfathers came to the UK from Poland and China during the Second World War, said immigration had enriched the country and represented Britain better than the far right ever could.
He told delegates: “I don’t believe for one minute that most of those who voted Reform at the last election are racist. But let me say this clearly and unequivocally. Nigel Farage isn’t a friend of the working class. He’s a fraud. A public school educated, private equity loving, NHS privatising, Putin apologist fraud.”
Mr Nowak said his grandad Joe came to Britain with Polish RAF and fought fascism during the Second World War. The TUC leader spoke of his heartbreak at the suffering of Ukrainians when he visited a children’s hospital in Kyiv in May.
He said it “turns my stomach” to hear excuses made for Russia’s brutal invasion. And he took aim at those who stoked violence on the streets following the Southport knife attack. He said: “The far-right hate mongers are no friends of the working class. They’re not patriots. They are frauds.”
Mr Nowak also drew cheers by reading out the names of ousted Tories like Liz Truss and Jacob Rees-Mogg, adding: “Goodbye and good riddance to every single one of them.” But he said the “miserable legacy” of 14 years of Tory rule remains.
“The legacy of public services ruined by negligence and austerity,” he said. “The legacy of an economy shattered by a shambolic Brexit and unfunded tax cuts for the rich. And a legacy of a Britain divided by nasty culture wars, dodgy PPE contracts and Downing Street parties.”
Mr Nowak said Keir Starmer’s Government would fight for working people – but admitted that it wouldn’t happen overnight.
A spokesman for Reform UK said: “This outburst proves Reform is a serious threat to the Labour Party. They really are scared, and so they should be.”